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Effects of functional connectivity of activated tissue volumes on clinical outcome of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease

Description

Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra leads to dysregulation of subcortical and cortical sensorimotor areas in Parkinson's disease. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is used as an alternative clinical approach in cases where drug therapy is inadequate or has unacceptable side effects. However, the underlying functional mechanisms leading to symptom improvement are not fully understood. Therefore, effective functional connections between the STN, the primary target of DBS in PD, and the cerebral cortex are of increasing interest. Several studies have found an association between preoperative functional connectivity of the STN and clinical outcome. However, most studies have focused on a specific volume of activated tissue (VTA) per patient. However, different programming settings and contact selection result in different VTAs. Therefore, combining systematically varied stimulation parameters with objective sensor-based movement measures is an interesting way to understand and objectify which conditions produce the most effective clinical outcomes from a neurobiological perspective, which could ultimately benefit both patients and movement disorders professionals. The present project will therefore investigate the preoperative connectivity of individual VTAs together with postoperative sensor-based measures of clinical outcome in Parkinson's disease patients following deep brain stimulation in order to gain a better understanding of the different effects in terms of correct electrode positioning and parameter setting.

Contact

Dr. Marina Rupper-Junck and Dr. Kenan Steidel
Mrs. Julia Lagger
Telefone: 06421/58 - 65299
Telefax: 06421/58 - 67055
marina.ruppert@

* please add "uni-marburg.de" for a full email-address.